Did Angola Really Ban Islam? Here's What You Should Know.
Angola has suddenly become the hot topic in the international media, as news outlets around the world wrote about reports that the Southwest African nation had allegedly banned Islam and had begun to dismantle mosques.
By Sadho Ram — 26 Nov 2013, 02:49 PM — Updated almost 11 years ago
According to several reports, Angola has reportedly declared Islam illegal and ordered for all of the country’s mosques to be closed down
In an apparent attempt to prevent the spread of Islamic extremism, the African nation of Angola has banned Islam and is in the process of tearing down mosques, according to multiple media reports.
examiner.com
On November 24, Angola President José Eduardo dos Santos said the country is working toward putting an end to Islamic influence in Angola once and for all.
dailymail.co.uk
Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos was quoted in Nigeria's Osun Defender newspaper on Sunday as saying that, "This is the final end of Islamic influence in our country," according to a report by OnIslam.net.
Image via ibtimes.comThe African economic news agency Agence Ecofin notes that, "According to several Angolan newspapers, Angola has become the first country in the world to ban Islam and Muslims, taking first measures by destroying mosques in the country."
codewit.com
Minister of culture Rosa Cruz e Silva said that mosques in the largely Christian country would be closed until further notice
She said “The process of legalization of Islam has not been approved by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, their mosques would be closed until further notice.”
dailymail.co.uk
Less than 1 per cent of the Angolan population of 19 million people are Muslim
Image via ibtimes.comShe described Islam as a ‘sect’ that would be banned as counter to Angolan customs and culture.
The International Business Times earlier reported that there are unconfirmed reports that mosques across the African country are being destroyed
In a physical extension of the officials' sentiments about Islam's place in Angola, La Nouvelle Tribune said that a minaret of an Angolan mosque was dismantled last October, and that the city of Zango "has gone further by destroying the only mosque in the city."
The emerging reports about Angola "banning" Islam and dismantling mosques point to the anti-Islam sentiments held by many in the nation's citizens, but they could not immediately be independently verified by International Business Times.
dailymail.co.ukAlong with Islam, which is a religion associated with less than 1 per cent of the population of 19 million, 194 other ‘sects’ have been banned in the nation, where more than half the population is Christian.
However, an unnamed official at the Angolan Embassy in Washington D.C. has denied that the nation has banned Islam
The official at the Angolan Embassy in Washington, D.C., who did not want to be identified while discussing the sensitive matter, said that there is no such ban, and that the reports are erroneous.
“The Republic of Angola … it’s a country that does not interfere in religion,” the official said via telephone Monday afternoon. “We have a lot of religions there. It is freedom of religion. We have Catholic, Protestants, Baptists, Muslims and evangelical people.”
intoday.in
A second official at the Angolan Embassy in the U.S. reiterated that the diplomatic seat has not been made aware of any ban on Islam in the country.
libertynewsonline.com“At the moment we don’t have any information about that,” the official told IBTimes via phone on Monday. “We’re reading about it just like you on the Internet. We don’t have any notice that what you’re reading on the Internet is true.”
The officials at the Angolan Embassy in Washington could not attest to the veracity of the comments attributed to officials in Angola seemingly affirming the Islam ban, which outlets including IBTimes had referenced in initial stories on the reports published over the weekend.
The news of the supposed ban originated in the African press and even quoted the country's culture minister, Rosa Cruz e Silva, as well as the President Jose Eduardo dos Santos to lend it credibility
In the reports, Silva was quoted as saying, "The process of legalisation of Islam has not been approved by the Ministry of Justice and Human rights, their mosques would be closed until further notice."
intoday.in
President Santos was quoted as saying, "This is the final end of Islamic influence in our country."
The embassy official further said that President Santos had been out of the country for a week and that he couldn't possibly have made such a remark.
libertynewsonline.comHe also clarified that no such reports had been published in Angolan newspapers.